


Surprises on Street Corners

by Hot_Trickster



Category: Batman (Movies - Nolan)
Genre: M/M, Secret Identity, Secret Relationship, Slash, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-11-06 01:34:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17930267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hot_Trickster/pseuds/Hot_Trickster
Summary: Two strangers meet on a sunny street in Gotham and recognize each other, even though they've never met before. Implied Batman/Joker, develops into more.





	1. Surprises on Street Corners

Disclaimer: I do not own Batman or Joker. Just the idea that spurred this story.

A/N: I had to write this strange piece after it popped into my head. A slight departure from my regular writing style I think, but I love this strange and awkward little piece.

 

* * *

 

There were extremely justifiable reasons why Bruce Wayne never waited for the car outside of Wayne Enterprises. It wasn't because he didn't want to 'mingle with commoners' , he wished he was them most of the time. It would make living a double life so much easier. No, it was the staring. The open mouth gaping that most people adopted when they recognized Gotham's playboy prince just standing on the sidewalk.

But today had been beautiful, clear unfettered sunlight reaching all the way down to street level in the bustling, often dank city.

Looking at his city in daylight, it managed to make the darkness recede from his world for a little while. Bruce basked in it as he waited for Alfred to bring the car around, celebrity chasers be damned.

Closing his eyes to feel the warmth was a mistake he hadn't counted on though, as he was suddenly knocked off his feet with a lanky body falling over him. Some unconscious recognition snapped in Bruce's mind and he suddenly had the person pinned to the sidewalk underneath him.

He hadn't even realized he was glaring at the person until he heard a gasp from some random onlooker, making his eyes focus on the person he had assailed.

Bruce blinked and looked down at the twenty-something man looking up at him with wide, anxious eyes. Green as acid, blond kinky curls falling away from his unmarked face. But...

"Oh shit," the man proclaimed loudly in an even, slightly accented voice. No gravel and grit tone. "I'm sorry! Wasn't looking where I was, uh, you know, going." He said with a nervous laugh absent of familiar madness.

Bruce stared, conflicted. When he didn't move after a moment the man underneath him started to shake, eyes darting around at the growing number of onlookers like a frightened animal. Like any moment someone would come to drag him away.

It made Bruce suddenly snap to and get to his feet, then hesitated before offering his hand to the man. Confusion burning his insides.

"No problem," he said flatly, studying the blond as he stood, not releasing the ungloved hand. "Bruce Wayne."

Those green eyes widened again and Bruce watched an array of emotions flash through them. Recognition, shock, confusion, and delight which was quickly cut off and led back into sudden fear.

But Bruce refused to let go of the hand trying to tug free from his, waiting.

"It's uh...Erik, no..." The man shook his head suddenly as he fumbled. "Jacob."

Bruce smirked and let go of the hand, 'Jacob' looked like he wanted to hit him for it but refrained as he looked around at the crowd. Stuffing both hands in his jean pockets and bowing his head so his blond hair covered his unblemished face.

It confused Bruce. He wasn't sure if he'd gone insane or if fate had a very strange sense of humor today.

Then Jacob licked nervously at the corner of his mouth.

Bruce was startled by sound of the car pulling up beside them, Alfred coming out to open the door for him.

"Sir?" Alfred asked curiously, staring at the young man with Bruce.

"Just an accidental collision, Alfred. Nothing to worry about," He said easily, giving the young man a smile that was partly for show to put the crowd and Alfred at ease.

Jacob looked at him strangely.

But Bruce was ever mindful of the onlookers.

"Need a ride anywhere, Jacob? Least I can do for nearly taking your head off." A true apology, though he didn't know why.

Bruce wasn't sure if the blond oddity could look anymore confused, his body swaying back and forth as he seemed to mull over it.

He looked on guard when he spoke. "Just a ride?"

Bruce nodded. "That's all I'm asking." 'And maybe an explanation'.

But he knew that answer. It was the same reason why he smiled and charmed his way through the day. It was the wrong place, wrong time, they were wearing different masks. They weren't the same people.

Jacob nodded silently, giving Alfred a weary look before ducking into the car before Bruce, no doubt checking to make sure the doors unlocked by themselves on the inside.

Bruce followed and noticed that Jacob was sitting as far away and on the opposite side of the car as possible. Alfred did nothing more but raise an eyebrow before shutting the door and leaving both men in a tinted cool darkness where silence reigned.

They didn't know what to do with themselves.

Jacob watched Bruce, arms wrapped around himself, only wearing a pair of worn jeans and an AC/DC shirt. It was, strange to say the least.

"So," Bruce started a little less then casually to break the silence. "What were you doing Jo..."

Bruce saw the man freeze up, that frightened animal look coming back to his eyes.

"...Jacob?"

Jacob relaxed and Bruce wondered how the man got through a single day like this if he stuttered to a halt like a deer in headlights at any possible slip. But then again, he probably dealt well with people who didn't know. People who weren't Bruce.

The cards were on the table and neither one of them knew what to do.

"I was...on my way to work."

"Oh." Surprised wasn't even the half of it considering this little revelation.

Jacob sighed with obvious annoyance, and for a moment the guise was transparent before he became that twenty-something kid again. "Look, every once in a while...I like this. If you'd have a heart, I'm Jacob." The growl that suddenly came out of Jacob's mouth didn't belong to the twenty-something. " And Jacob wants out of the fucking car!"

He dove at the door and Bruce realized the man was willing to jump out of a moving vehicle to get away from him. He reached out to stop him and managed to grab the mans hand. Jacob suddenly recoiled with a pained hiss, slamming back against his seat as if he'd been hit.

Bruce opened his mouth to say something, but he wasn't sure what there was to say.

"Are we dropping you off at the Narrows?"

Jacob sneered. "All  _assumptions_ , Brucey." And he suddenly balked at his own tone. Bruce had accidentally knocked the mans mask askew and Jacob was now fumbling to right it. "I mean...no. I work downtown at a music store. 58th and Broadway, boss is gonna kill me if I'm late." He snorted, a restrained laugh. "I usually am."

It was like watching a struggling actor who couldn't contain his own ticks to get through the lines. What had made the most feared man in Gotham do what he was doing right now?

Before Bruce knew what he was doing, he'd reached across the seats to touch Jacob's smooth cheek in slight wonder. Green eyes flicked up in surprise just in time to slap Bruce's hand away viciously.

" _Don't_!" He snapped. "Hint at it all you want, Wayne. But don't you dare!"

Bruce didn't try to hide his confusion.

"I just don't know how you..."

Jacob smirked. "Could ask you the same thing, but I'm  _not_. After all," he shrugged. "We're just two strangers who bumped into each other on the street. You don't get a lovers familiarity with me."

Bruce accepted that. If he didn't cross a line into the day light life of the man across from him, the favor would be returned. He gave Alfred the address and both men spent the rest of the ride in silence, studying each other like they'd never met before.

Jacob went for the door the moment the car stopped, but Bruce made an effort to catch the mans shoulder. The blond stiffened under the touch before he let out a sigh.

"Look, you leave me alone and I'll let you in on something," green eyes turned to glint at him in surprisingly welcome familiarity. "Your buddies friend is gonna be out tonight. He's out to cause a little mischief and he wanted me to pass on the invitation." A knowing smile. "Make sure it gets into the right hands for me?"

Bruce returned the secretive smirk and nodded, letting this strange, beautifully plain man go. Something he wasn't allowed to have. "Yeah."

Jacob smiled, a faint sadness in his expression. Maybe Bruce wasn't something he was allowed to have either. A chance meeting they both knew would never happen again.

Jacob would never walk by Wayne Tower again, Bruce would never try to find the music shop. Trust built over years of nights and early mornings together where they took off their masks, smiled at one another and laughed at their obvious nakedness.

But these lives were their own, and the other was not allowed to play more then this brief cameo.

Bruce would miss Jacob. But he could live without him.

As Jacob disappeared into the bustling downtown streets of Gotham where not even a passing glance was tossed his way, Bruce saw the blond tilt his head up to the sun and close his eyes with a content smile. Bruce understood.

 

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P.S. Reviews are pure love. X3


	2. A Dreary World For Us

He unlocked the door with sigh, dropping the keys on the table by the door before taking the paper and groceries to the kitchen after kicking the door shut.

There was nothing special about the apartment. It was nice, not scuzzy, but not anything over the top either. A plain apartment with bleached wood colors and a minimalistic belief. The blond fit into the background perfectly, his band t-shirt the only real splash of color that traveled through the well lighted rooms.

Jacob whistled as he went about putting the food, mostly junk food and sugary confections away and grabbed the paper before moving to the bathroom. He jogged back out a moment later and into the bedroom before coming back with a perfectly hung purple suit slung over his shoulder.

He continued to whistle as he hung the clothes on the shower railing and opened the medicine cabinet to pull out the stained greasepaint tubes and lipstick. Turning on the taps, adjusting the temperature, Jacob snapped the newspaper open while he waited for the water to adjust.

He stopped whistling.

A picture of Batman and the Joker was splashed across the front page again, in full color and focus this time.

Jacob scowled, running his tongue along the inside of his cheeks as he tossed away the cover page and searched for something else to read as was his habit during this part of his day.

Unfortunately he ended up in the gossip pages and came face to face with Bruce Wayne's picture taking up half of the article. Something about another fundraiser gone awry by the interruption of the Joker, a continuation of the front page story.

Jacob crumbled the paper up completely and lobbed it on the floor, bracing his arms on the sink before looking up at the mirror. Scarless, young, harmless. That's what he was, even as he gingerly brushed across the spots on his face that hid who he really was. Thin layers of latex and make-up, hiding a force of nature from the world.

Bruce reaching across to touch his face, the same way he...

Jacob lurched away from the sink.

No, Bruce wasn't his. No one belonged to Jacob. Especially not Bruce Wayne.

He reached desperately for the greasepaint tubes, needing it, needing someone.

He was about to swipe white half hazardly across his forehead when the door bell rang.

Jacob's brow furrowed as he stared at his own ragged reflection in confusion. He put his hand under the tap to wash away the white and checked his face to make sure everything was right before he went to answer the door.

He only got it open an inch or so before he cursed and tried to slam it shut. But the body on the other side slammed into it, sending Jacob rebounding off the door and sprawling on the floor. He was quick to get up and dash to the kitchen with the intruder just on his heels. He managed to open his knife drawer just as he was whirled around and pressed back against the counter, the drawer slamming shut next to him.

Jacob glared at the face bare inches from his, panting from the short sprint as Bruce Wayne's own breath fell heavy on his cheek.

"I told you...to leave me the hell alone!" He snarled.

"I know." Bruce said, not even backing up enough to allow Jacob to breath his own air. But he wasn't stupid enough to struggle against the more built man. It was always a losing battle, no matter who he was.

"What do you want?"

Bruce shook his head, brow knitting together. "I don't know." Brown eyes Jacob didn't know at all, but a part of him knew all to well looked up at him. "Proof that I'm not crazy?"

Make-up or not he felt a part of himself rise to the occasion of sneering something sarcastic at Bruce when the billionaire lunged forward. Jacob opened his mouth to protest and was shocked when Bruce pushed his tongue past Jacob's lips and sealed their mouths together in a heated kiss.

Jacob was in one part shock, one part lust as he dared to return the kiss. And then that traitorous tongue ran along the scars on the insides of Jacob's cheeks and he bit down hard on it. Bruce hissed and pulled away, helped along by Jacob shoving him back and reaching into the drawer for a familiar switchblade. One of the Joker's favorites.

"You know, now  _get out_!" He shouted, brandishing the blade at a shocked Bruce Wayne. "You couldn't just  _wait_ , could you? A few hours and you would of had what you wanted. You didn't have to come here and take what wasn't yours!"

"Jacob..."

" _Don't call me that_!" Jacob snapped. But he suddenly felt weak out of costume, his knife weilding hand lowering. "It's not who you're here for, why couldn't you just let me have this?" He asked pleadingly, crouching on the ground as he fisted his hands in his blond hair .The flat of the switchblade pressed firmly against his scalp. "Why can you have a life and I can't? Who made those rules?"

There was silence for a long while as Jacob stared unseeingly at the tiled floor. He almost thought Bruce had left in the same quiet way he was prone to when a warm voice broke through the silence.

"Why would you want one?"

Jacob closed his eyes and laughed mirthlessly. "To stay sane."

He still jumped when a hand carded through his hair gently, making him shiver.

"I'm not helping, am I?" Bruce asked thoughtfully.

Jacob smirked, looking up at the playboy who was now crouched in front of him.

"Not  _par-tic-ularl-y,_  no."

Surprisingly his normal speech pattern made Bruce smile instead of recoil. It made Jacob relax and he didn't stop the reflex to lick his lower lip before speaking again.

"You're selfish, you know that?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at Bruce. "I give you the biggest part of myself and all you ever want is  _more_."

"Is wanting all of your lover so much to ask for?" Bruce asked curiously.

Jacob gave him a horrified look. " _Yes_."

Bruce's eyes were dark, intense pools and the hand that had carded through Jacob's hair found the back of his neck. "Then yes, I am very selfish."

It was slow this time under Jacob's wide eyes, a faint , gentle brush of lips against his. Teasing and leaving an acute tingling behind.

He knew that demons mouth, felt it do things to him that no one had ever dared do before. But always hard, needy, bruising. He'd never felt them so fucking gentle. And it pulled him in, blurring the lines between Batman and Joker, Jacob and Bruce.

A feeling that tugged at the back of his navel and made his brow furrow at the second brush of lips. Bruce moving them back onto the floor, Jacob's hands falling away from his hair, knife forgotten to tangle in Bruce's.

Searching fingers ran along Jacob's cheek and he froze as he realized what Bruce was doing. He pulled back from the kiss, mind partially clouded as he grabbed Bruce's hand.

"No..." He said quietly, looking up at Bruce's suddenly tensed features. "I...want to see how you'll look at me without them."

"I won't look at you any different." Bruce said firmly.

Jacob just smiled, wrapping his arms around the playboys neck to pull him back into that torturous kiss. "Tell me another one,  _Batsy_."

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P.S. Comments are love and candy!


	3. Dank Dawns and Wild Nights

Jacob groaned, turning over in bed just on the edge of consciousness as his nose became buried in soft hair that smelled like shampoo and sex. He smiled, the action pulling at the prosthetics.

Green eyes snapped open in the dark bedroom, scanning with sharp awareness before looking at the man he'd wrapped himself around in his sleep.

Bruce Wayne slept on peacefully in his lovers arms. A title Jacob only earned a few hours before when Wayne stormed his apartment bent on having all of the man more commonly known as the Joker.

It wasn't long before things moved to the bedroom. And even in the dim light Bruce hadn't lied as they claimed ownership over each other, he looked at Jacob the same way the blond knew from midnight trysts and post battle fire . Still there was a constant hint of wonder in those dark eyes. Something Jacob couldn't fault him for as he barely believed it, even as Bruce tipped him over the edge in a way that was wonderful and horrible at the same time. And for a moment they almost forgot who they were.

Jacob buried his face in Bruce's hair, closing his eyes as he inhaled the scent of a man without a double life. A lie like Jacob was.

He looked at the tacky red clock over Bruce's shoulder and smiled, a different kind of smile that didn't belong to the young man.

A reverent kiss to Bruce's temple and Jacob slipped from the bed and locked himself in the bathroom. The water turned on.

"Bruce...wake up..."

Bruce ignored the soft voice in his ear and gentle prod to his side. He just needed another hour or so of sleep. One more and he'd be fit to present to the public again.

But the person waking him up was persistent and slung a long leg over his stomach to sit astride his hips. It got his attention as the person called his name again. But Bruce was stubborn enough to ignore it.

Whatever leggy blond had somehow ended up in his bed could wait.

" _Baaaaatsy_..."

It was a trigger, like on the street corner that had Bruce staring down at an equally shocked blond he had pinned down on the bed under him.

Jacob looked as if he'd suddenly remembered how to breath.

"Maybe I shouldn't do that again?" he asked.

"Yeah, maybe you shouldn't." Bruce grumbled before he collapsed back on the bed next to the blond.

He watched Jacob frown and turn to look at him. " I can't help if I slip, suns going down."

"You don't hear me growling at you a quarter to, do you?" Bruce asked.

"You weren't getting up, and we're going to be late," Jacob argued.

Bruce turned to ask just what it was they'd be late for when he noticed Jacob's clothes. Purple stripped pants, hexagon shirt and green vest. No hair dye or make-up, and the scars were still hidden.

He looked like a kid wearing some store bought villains costume.

"What are you doing?" Bruce asked quietly.

Jacob met his eyes in the dim light afforded by the open bathroom door. "Getting dressed."

"We don't..."

"Yes, we do." Jacob cut off calmly, the sound of his voice a contradiction to the half made up Joker. "I need...we need the balance to stay this way, Bruce."

He watched Jacob's brow furrow with sudden worry. "Bruce, if you can't..."

But Bruce killed that newly born insecurity by covering Jacob's mouth and body with his.

The smaller body arched against him, letting out a muffled sound of surprise that turned into a low moan.

He knew it would be some time before he saw Jacob again, held or kissed him. So Bruce made it count, refusing to let the other man up for air until Jacob gave a needy whine in the back of his throat.

Cloudy green eyes looked up at him and seemed to waver for a moment. Bruce thought he'd won more time, but the blond simply bit his lip and searched Bruce's face for something.

"Kiss me like that when I'm dressed?" He asked, a hopeful note in his voice.

Bruce was hesitant to make that promise, before he smirked.

"If you're good."

Jacob scoffed. "Crush my hopes and dreams why don't you?"

Bruce was pushed off with a chuckle.

"Ten minutes head start,  _lover_." Was tossed over a blue sheathed shoulder as Jacob walked out of the room.

Bruce watched him disappear into the bathroom, knowing the same man wouldn't come back out.

He had to get moving.

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P.S. Comments are love.

 


	4. This Lively Game

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Batman or Joker, a sad fact, but true.

A/N: The last installment of the Bruce/Jacob series. I really do appreciate all the people who have followed this strange series, you've all be incredibly lovely. Thank you. Hope you enjoy!

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An hour later he finally found the Joker by the docks, knee deep in dead bodies with a devilish smile on his painted lips.

It took minimal force to grab the clowns lapels and ram him up against the nearest boat side. But he put a little more into it, making the Joker's laugh rattle somewhere in the middle.

"' _Hiya honey_ ," the clown crooned thickly. "You're  _late_."

"So you kill eight people?" Batman growled.

The Joker looked back at the vigilante, unphased by the anger. "You say that like I've never done worse," he said thoughtfully, tongue darting out to swipe over his exposed scars. Dipping his head down, green eyes looked up at Batman through barely there blond lashes. "And we both know that's not true."

Batman grit his teeth. "If this is about..."

"Oh, I didn't do this." The Joker said with a casual wave of his hand at the bodies littering the dock. "Not my, uh... _style_. You know that."

He couldn't see Jacob in this man with the curling lips and pitted eyes. He stopped looking.

"The evidence isn't exactly in your favor, Joker." Batman reminded.

"I can see that," Joker said matter of factly, nodding like a broken bobble head. "May wanna check it again though,  _de_ -tec-tive.  _They're cold_."

The vigilante loosened his grip enough to let the Joker's feet touch the ground again.

"Don't move," he warned the clown, not expecting the Joker to listen as Batman released him and moved closer to the crime scene.

Kneeling next to one of the bodies, he saw the blue lips. Cold as ice. The Joker had an alibi. He couldn't have done this between the time he'd spent as Jacob and now.

Inspecting the body closer he found large chunks of flesh missing, the other corpses had similar marks. There were jagged cuts to each mark, looking almost like...

"Bite marks," Batman said aloud.

" _What smile signals death_?" The Joker quoted next to Batman's crouched form, looking down at the dead man with detached curiosity.

Batman glared at him before standing. "You would know since you wrote it." He accused.

The Joker rolled his eyes. "Riddles aren't really my thing." he said with a shrug before he smiled triumphantly. "But I  _did_  figure it out before you. These  _lucky ducks_  got dunked in a shipment of parahnas for the aquarium." The Joker's grin was sharp. "Nom nom."

Batman scowled. "How did you even find out about it?"

The riddle had been sent to the GCPD weeks ago, a calling card to a recent string of unidentified mass murders. So far Batman had found no vyable leads.

The Joker quirked a brow. "Do you  _really_  want to know?"

Batman pointedly ignored him.

"I'm calling in the police. You should leave," He said instead in a brisk tone, glancing back at the Joker pointedly.

But the painted man didn't move. And Batman turned at the uncharacteristic silence.

"I was good." Was all the Joker said.

It took a moment for Batman to understand what he meant, but when it registered he was struck silent by the reminder.

He'd been rough with the Joker in the beginning of their relationship for many reasons. Some Bruce had managed to come to terms with over time, some that would linger forever. But the continued aggression in bed after so long was because the Joker wanted it, goaded him on to punch bite and abuse him. It just wasn't until now that he realized the Joker thought it was the only kind of love Bruce was capable of showing him.

Maybe it was time to change that.

He moved forward fast enough to put the Joker on guard for a fight until he tangled a gloved hand in green hair and stopped just short of pressing their lips together. He felt when the Joker released the breath he'd been holding.

Trembling hands rest on his hips as gritted teeth were bared at him.

" _Coward_ ," the Joker accused.

Batman took his time proving just how wrong that accusation was.

Hours passed before Batman could finally leave the docks, letting Gordon's men finish up at the crime scene.

It seemed like forever ago that the Joker had pulled away from the kiss, an unreadable expression in his eyes, before the approaching sirens had the madman running to god knows where. Even after he'd wiped the greasepaint from his mouth, Bruce could still feel that kiss.

Had Bruce broken them? Had he crossed a line that was never supposed to be approached, let alone jumped over? The Joker was known for his taunts, but maybe even he'd gotten in over his head this time. Dared Bruce to do something neither one them expected him to do.

What if he...

Bruce didn't know how or why, but he made it across town to Jacob's apartment before he even realized where he was going.

The bolt held very little resistance under a skilled lock pickers hand.

The cowl hit the floor before he even finished crossing the threshold, the rest of his armor following soon after, leaving a trail of kevlar and cape as he moved through the brightly lit halls to reach the bedroom.

For all the noise Bruce made, Jacob still looked surprised when he glanced up to find the nearly naked vigilante standing in the doorway.

The younger man looked quiet the wreck. Sitting on the still rumpled bed in nothing but a towel, in a room that still clung with the smell of love making. His blond hair was wet and hanging around a face that looked like it'd been scrubbed raw, the pink of unmasked scars splashed across his pale cheeks. For a mass murdering maniac, he looked half terrified, half caught in unbelieving wonder.

Bruce thought it was the most beautiful sight in the world.

For a moment, there was nothing but calculating silence.

"I didn't think you were coming back," Jacob admitted quietly.

Bruce smirked weakly. "I didn't think you'd still be here."

He watched Jacob blink, comb back his wet hair and put on a smile that was half his, half the Joker's. It fit perfectly on his face. "Quiet the night for  _surprises_."

"Have room for a few more?" Bruce asked, moving further into the room.

 Jacob raised an eyebrow, watching him carefully. "Depends. What kind are they?"

Bruce smiled.

"The kind I have to show you." He said before closing the door.

Shutting out the light and plunging them both into sweet, cool darkness.

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P.S. Fin! Hope you enjoyed!


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